A COUNCIL has been rewarded for giving excellent customer service to its residents.

Rochford District Council’s revenue and benefits team has been given nationally-recognised accreditation for the second year running.

They were assessed and had to show they gave people living in the district the information they needed quickly, professionally and courteously.

The inspector said they had passed with “flying colours”.

Malcolm Maddocks, councillor responsible for council tax collection, benefits and housing, said: “Given the current economic climate, the council’s revenues and benefits team understands that residents who need them expect high levels of customer service.

“This award recognises the hard work and effort by officers who work in the team. We regularly carry out customer surveys measuring satisfaction with our revenues and benefits service and the information we gather from these is used to ensure that we continue to meet the expectations of the people who need us.

“Receiving this accolade for first-rate customer service for the second year running shows that we are listening to the feedback we receive and ensuring that we continue to develop our service to meet the changing needs of the people who rely on us.”

The team, which is responsible for housing and council tax benefit as well as collecting council tax, business rates and investigating benefit fraud, is one of 21 departments in the country to have received the accreditation.